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Fun Filler Games for Two Players -- What are Your Favorites? (Now with over 55 recommendations!)
Martin Ralya
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R'lyeh
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My wife, Alysia, and I like playing games together, but her job is mentally demanding and detail-oriented -- the last thing she wants to do on a weeknight is play a long or deep game. "Honey, want to play Scrabble?" (and spend an hour-plus locked in fierce competition) just doesn't cut the mustard. ;)

I'm pretty slow about things sometimes zombie, but after asking what she wanted to play a few times and getting short, quick games as my answer, I finally realized that for us, weeknights are perfect for filler.

Nothing wrong with that at all: filler rocks. But which filler games are good with two players?

We've found two so far that we enjoy, and have a few others on deck, but I'm most interested in hearing your recommendations. Hopefully together we can make this list a nifty resource for 'Geeks who want to find the best two-player filler games.

(There are lots of great GeekLists about filler games, but I didn't see one that addressed this specific niche. Two that I enjoyed were 10 Things That Make a Great 15-20 Minute Filler (not 30 or 45...) and The meatiest 30 minute Filler games for 2 players & scale up - PLEASE ADD!!!.)
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Posted Sat Apr 5, 2008 3:37 pm
Edited Mon Apr 14, 2008 4:09 pm
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51. Board Game: Elk Fest [Average Rating:6.18 Overall Rank:1272]
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leftfield
United States
Durham
North Carolina
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silly flicking fun in a small package
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Martin Ralya
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R'lyeh
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This looks like pure, distilled awesome. It went straight into my wishlist as a must-have -- thanks for the recommendation!
William Hostman
United States
Eagle River
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Yes, this is what lead me to try pitchcar...

Great fun. Loads of strategy.

Add a second set and it can be 4 player mayhem!
Edited Mon Jun 30, 2008 9:04 am
52. Board Game: Tsuro [Average Rating:6.48 Overall Rank:687]
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leftfield
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I actually haven't played this, but it is similar to Metro (which I have played) and is quicker. light stragedy (sic)
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Edited Tue Apr 8, 2008 6:14 pm
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William Hostman
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Eagle River
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not light, and not filler.

This one requires good visual acuity, strong thinking, and really is slow with 2 players.

With 4 or 5, it does play faster. (same number of tiles, less time spent thinking on own turn.)

ISTR it plays up to 6p....
53. Board Game: Can't Stop [Average Rating:6.92 Overall Rank:271]
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leftfield
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light push your luck dice game. have some dice? look at the files section and download and print a board of your choice. have poker chips? look at the images to see what people have done to make a modular board.
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54. Board Game: Ghosts! [Average Rating:6.43 Overall Rank:1053]
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Joaquin Lopez
Spain
Cordoba
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I haven't played this game yet, but some friends have played it and told me that is fast and really fun (and it's for two players).
I have read the rules and I'm really interesting, mainly because of you can explain it in just two minutes. Components are nice too.

(Martin, congratulations for this list. Great idea!. !saludos!)

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55. Board Game: Ingenious [Average Rating:7.44 Overall Rank:76]
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Randall Bart
United States
Seattle
Washington
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A two player game (using just the inner part of the board) can be done in 20 minutes.
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Edited Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:53 am
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56. Board Game: Pecking Order [Average Rating:6.58 Overall Rank:936]
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Joaquin Lopez
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I think that this game must be in this list because of: is strictly for two players, is fast, and is an interesting game, because there aren't too many bluffing games for two.
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Edited Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:44 pm
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57. Board Game: The Legend of Landlock [Average Rating:5.91 Overall Rank:2631]
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lisa smith
United States
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Quite light but fun. Kind of like carcassone-lite. Plays quick.
58. Board Game: Gene Pool [Average Rating:6.76 Overall Rank:1712]
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lisa smith
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I like this one alot as a filler. Might be hard to find as there were not many copies made. Somewhat similar in feel to Phoenix but I like this more.
59. Board Game: German Whist [Average Rating:6.41 Unranked]
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Craig Duncan
United States
Ithaca
New York
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This is a fun two-player card game that you can play with a regular 52-card deck. You can learn it in 3 minutes and play it in 15 minutes. There are interesting strategic choices to be had, so it is not all luck-of-the-draw.

Regarding other public domain card games: I see Cribbage is already mentioned elsewhere on this list. Also worth considering = Gin Rummy, Casino, and Schnapsen.
60. Board Game: Cheese Chasers [Average Rating:7.01 Overall Rank:2452]
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bran mcmillin
United States
Batavia
Ohio
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Cheese Chasers is a SOLITAIRE OR MULTI-PLAYER, FREE PNP card game that I designed, takes 1-10 minutes to play. Printable on 3 pgs of 8.5" x 11" (that includes the pocketmod rule booklet). It can be played Cooperatively OR Competitively.

The objective is to surround the Cheese Cards while breaking the Mousetraps, and keeping away from the Cats. The catch is that players have to place the next card off of the previously placed card. If you have three unbroken Mousetraps out at anytime the game ENDS, and your score is ZERO! So even in Competitive play, players must Cooperate.

Cool thing is, it all fits in a wallet.



My wife really digs the game, and it is one that we pull out to play almost every night. It goes so quickly and it's so much fun to play!
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Martin Ralya
United States
R'lyeh
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My wishlist is groaning under the strain of all these excellent recommendations (and it was hefty to start with) -- thank you!

I'm blown away but how many good games have been suggested so far. This GeekList will definitely be an excellent reference for me as we pick up new games -- and I hope it will be useful to other 'Geeks, too.
Craig Blumer
United States
Oshkosh
Wisconsin
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Thanks for this list. Many of the 2-player lists only have games I've heard numerous times before. This elicited a number of new and interesting ones I'll have to investigate further.
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